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The Art of the Original Feast

As we get ready to prepare for the big feast this Thursday (by the way, LACMA is closed on Thanksgiving Day but open normal hours on Friday) it’s interesting to note what foods were served at the original feast in 1621 between the Plymouth colony and the Wampanoag tribe.

Using images from the departments of LACMA’s permanent collection, here’s a pictorial look at what would (and would not) have been eaten in Plymouth almost four hundred years ago:

1

George Fuller, Girl with Turkeys, circa 1883-1884, gift of William T. Cresmer

2

Pablo Picasso, The Turkey, 1936, gift of The Ahmanson Foundation

Wild turkeys were abundant in the area, but they may not have been the focus of the meal. Other types of poultry were also caught and served . . .

These are just a sampling of the vegetables and nuts that would have been included at the Thanksgiving table. But take a look what wouldn’t have been served because potatoes didn’t become popular in North America until the 1700s after colonists had brought them over from Europe, which explorers had brought back from South America.